


Kill or Be Killed

by Agent_Bluefox



Series: X Company Short Stories [5]
Category: X Company (TV)
Genre: Combat Training, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Rene secretly interviewing people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29934642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent_Bluefox/pseuds/Agent_Bluefox
Summary: “The one simple rule you have to remember is ‘kill or be killed.’ Jerry’s not gonna take it easy on you just ‘cause you’re a woman or you don’t look like much of a threat. Your objective is to dispense with your target as quickly, quietly, and efficiently as possible.”
Series: X Company Short Stories [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187687





	Kill or Be Killed

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer, I don't know how to play gin, or poker (hence the completely lack of description of the card game) nor have I ever tried the combat tactics described.

Kill or Be Killed

In theory, it was simple. A clear set of instructions to be carried out in a series of motions. Take the knife, sneak up behind the target, slit his throat. 

Simple. 

Except, it really wasn’t. 

It didn’t really matter that the target was nothing more than a vaguely human-shaped pile of hay, propped up by a stick. It was the principle behind the thing. It was beginning to sink in that he was being trained to kill people. What had the instructor said? Silent killing, or something like that. He talked about it so casually. Harry wondered how he did it. 

“Private James,” came the voice of the instructor, reminding him of his assigned task. 

At least it wasn’t Graff again, Harry considered. This instructor, a middle-aged man with a Scottish brough, had a little more patience. Harry glanced at him and shifted the knife in his hand, feeling the weight of it against his palm, then slowly crept forward toward the dummy. 

He could feel the others watching him. Aurora was there, and Neil, and Rene, and a couple others whose names he couldn’t recall. Taking another step forward he had almost reached the dummy. 

Just a swift jerk across its ‘throat’ and he could go back and blend into the ranks again. So what exactly was the problem? 

“Private James,” came the voice again. Sterner this time. 

Harry lunged out and hesitated just a second before drawing the knife across the throat of the dummy. He stepped back and glanced back at the instructor. 

He pursed his lips and turned to the other recruits. “Would anyone like to tell me what he did wrong?”

“He took too long,” Neil said. 

Aurora sighed and glanced at him before speaking up. “He hesitated before actually following through. If it was a real soldier, there was more than enough time for him to notice Harry was there.”

The instructor nodded. “Good. Private James, in war, you cannot afford the luxury of squeamishness.” He stalked away, hands behind his back, raising his voice so the rest could hear. “Either you kill or capture, or you will be captured or killed.” He turned back to Harry. “Understood?”

“Yes sir.” 

“Good.” He directed his next words to all of them. “Meet in the gym in ten minutes.” 

Harry sighed and absently rubbed his nose, looking up as Aurora came over to him. 

She gave him one of her soft smiles he was growing to like. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.”

“I’m not sure I want to get the hang of it.” He shrugged a little. “They told me I’d be a radio operator. I guess I didn’t think…” he didn’t think they’d also be training him how to kill people. He kind of figured that would be other people’s jobs. People like Neil or Rene or even Aurora. Not him. He thought suddenly of his mother who thought he was just going to be working in an office in Ottawa. 

Aurora didn’t say anything for a moment. “You’re not the only one struggling. It shouldn’t be easy. But it is necessary. You know that don’t you?”

He nodded. 

“Aurora!” Rene called. 

Aurora glanced over her shoulder, then back at Harry, lightly touching his arm. “We should head to the gym.”

The gym was located in the main building, decently sized, but not huge. 

The instructor waited until they were all lined up, then motioned to Neil, who stepped forward to stand beside him. 

“Most of you know Neil Mackay,” he began. “What you may not know is that he was a cop in Shanghai before the war. He was trained in a very specialized style of fighting. You’re going to be learning close combat from him today. I want you all to pay close attention and treat him as you would a superior.” He nodded to Neil. 

Harry’s eyes widened a little. Shanghai? So at least some of the rumors were true. He hadn’t really spoken to the man since their ‘mission’ in the woods together almost a week ago, but the man was little friendlier around him at the mess hall. He wondered what kind ‘specialized fighting’ he knew. 

The instructor looked back at the other recruits for a moment. “Just a reminder, your object is to learn how to kill, but it is quite unnecessary to kill or damage your sparring partner, and you will not get extra points if you do so,” he finished with a particular brand of dry humor. He motioned for Neil to go ahead, then turned and left them. 

“Alright,” Neil started, clasping his hands behind his back and staring down each of them. “Anyone want to volunteer for a demonstration?” 

Unsurprisingly, no one volunteered, then, unexpectedly, Aurora stepped forward. 

A smile played on Neil’s lips. “Alright. Give me your hand.” 

She hesitated a moment, then placed her hand in his. Before she could take a breath, Neil had twisted her arm to the left and suddenly had her bent over, her arm twisted back painfully. She gave a sharp gasp of surprise. 

Harry saw Rene move as though to go to her, but he stopped himself. 

“From this angle, I could break her arm, get her on the floor, or stick a knife in her back.” He let her go and she straightened, rubbing her arm. 

“Want to give it a try?” He asked her. 

She laughed, a little out of breath. “Sure.”

This time, she held out her hand and he took it. She copied his movements, jerking his arm to the left, but before she could follow through, Neil brought his other hand down sharply on the crook of her elbow. This released her hold, and she gave a short cry. 

“What was that?” She demanded.

Neil grinned a little. “You left your whole side open to attack and you weren’t paying attention.”

“I was doing what you—”

“Doesn’t matter. You always have to assume your opponent is going to take advantage of any available opening.” He held out his hand again. “Now, this time we’ll go slow. I weigh more than you, so you have to use my own momentum against me.”

They went on like this, back and forth, for almost twenty minutes until Aurora had grown red in the face and was breathing hard. 

Neil motioned for her to go back to her place in line and turned to face the rest of the recruits. “The one simple rule you have to remember is ‘kill or be killed.’ Jerry’s not gonna take it easy on you just ‘cause you’re a woman or you don’t look like much of a threat. Your objective is to dispense with your target as quickly, quietly, and efficiently as possible.” He frowned. “Something wrong, Cummings?”

Harry glanced at the blond man beside him. He knew him a little. He was always the outgoing one in the barracks. Now he looked vaguely sick. 

But he shook his head. “Uh… no sir. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Good.” His gaze seemed to rest on each of them. “You go for weak points, especially if your opponent is larger than you are. Face, stomach, crotch. Never underestimate a swift kick between the legs. Now, pair off with someone roughly your size. We’ll start easy at first.”

Harry glanced around.

“Harry,” Neil called, “you’re with Aurora.”

That raised a couple sniggers, which Neil quieted with a few well-placed glares. “Tom, you’re with me.”

Harry went to stand by Aurora, feeling just a little awkward. 

“Now, we’re gonna try a simple dislocation.” He went on to demonstrate the tactic of getting your opponent on the floor where you could easily break his wrist by applying just a little pressure. Then he motioned for the other recruits to try. “Go easy,” he said briefly. “You won’t get extra points for maiming your opponent.”

Harry looked at Aurora, but before he could say anything, she had him on the ground, wrist bent at an odd angle. Harry blinked up at her. 

“Sorry,” she murmured with a little smile before helping him up. “You try.”

It took a couple tries but he caught the hang of it. It had to be a fluid motion. Once he understood, he had her on the ground in two seconds. 

“Good,” Neil commented. 

Harry quickly let go of Aurora’s wrist and stepped back.

They continued on like this for over an hour, going over how to escape from wrist and throat holds, how to kill a sentry, with or without a knife, even how to dislocate someone’s spine. A method that Harry didn’t particularly care for. As well as numerous other simple blows and kicks. 

Finally, just when Harry thought he was going to give up and go to sleep right there on the mat, the first instructor from the morning returned. He thanked Neil and dismissed them, saying they had the rest of the day off. What was left of it, anyway. 

Harry let out a sigh of relief and made a beeline for the showers. He had learned in the first couple days that if he didn’t hurry, the others would use up all the hot water. 

Twenty minutes later, in a fresh uniform with his hair still slightly damp, Harry wandered over to the recreation hall, where the recruits usually gathered after hours. Harry usually steered clear. To be honest, he still felt like an outsider. The others, Aurora, Rene, Neil, the guys in his barracks, they all seemed so much… better at all of this. 

Even if they stumbled and made mistakes of their own. Harry had seen firsthand how truly awful Neil was with the radio tapper, and Aurora had a fear of heights and falling, even from just a short distance. 

Still, he usually just preferred to spend his free time on his own, going over the manual or memorizing the lessons from the day. 

He had hardly stepped into the rec hall, when Aurora caught sight of him and motioned him over to a table in the corner. She sat with Rene and the blond man, Tom. Harry hesitated, then went over. 

“Harry, right?” Rene extended his hand across the table. 

“Yeah. And you’re Rene,” Harry took the hand with a slightly awed smile. Rene had been the leader of an Underground cell in France. The same one Aurora had been a part of. But then, Aurora somehow wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Rene. 

“The one and only,” he gave him a gently teasing smile. You know how to play poker?” Rene asked, holding up the deck of worn, blue cards.

“Rene,” Aurora protested. “Poker is boring. How about gin?” 

She glanced at Harry, who nodded, sliding into the empty seat beside her. “I used to play with my dad.”

Rene shuffled the cards and passed them out to Aurora, Tom, Harry, and himself. 

Harry glanced at his cards, then around at the others at the table. Rene had a natural poker face, so did Aurora. Although she had a small smile gracing her lips, he had quickly learned that it wasn’t necessarily indicative of anything she knew. Tom was leaned back with a look of mild disinterest on his face. 

They went around the table a few times, hardly saying a word as they focused on the game. Harry got the distinct feeling that Rene was watching them, studying them, or sizing them up, but for what reason, he wasn’t sure. 

“So, Tom,” Rene said after a while. “You were in advertising, right?”

“That’s right,” Tom leaned forward to throw a card on the table. “Back in Richmond. Ever seen that ad for Coleman’s toothpaste?” He glanced around the table, receiving only blank looks. He shrugged. “Well anyway, that’s my design.”

Rene nodded. “Your focus is MO?”

“Morale Operations, right?” Tom clarified. He nodded. “I’m still getting used to all these acronyms. But yeah, that’s my ‘specialty’ I guess.” He glanced at Harry. “What about you? You’re good at morse. I saw you yesterday.”

Harry nodded, allowing himself a little pride. “Yeah, I’m up to forty-nine words per minute.”

“Really?” Rene gave him an appraising look. “That’s impressive.”

“I had an amateur radio club back at the university,” Harry explained, looking over his cards. “That’s how they found me, actually. Thought I was a German spy,” he added with a little laugh. 

Rene and Aurora exchanged a glance, so quick Harry wasn’t even sure he saw it. From the other side of the room, a shout went up and he turned to see. Neil and a few of the other recruits were playing darts, apparently one of them got a good score. 

Rene set down a card that won him the game and stood up. “Well, it’s getting late, and we all have early mornings.” 

Harry and Aurora agreed, getting to their feet as Rene swept up the cards. “Tom, Harry, it was nice to meet you, officially.” He shook Tom’s hand, then Harry’s. “Harry, I’d like it if you could show me some tricks on the wireless set sometime. I always get the dots and dashes mixed up.”

Harry’s eyes widened a little and he nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yeah, sure. Anytime.” 

Rene smiled warmly and patted his shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not too thrilled with the ending, but everything I tried just seemed to stretch it out needlessly so... Here is is.
> 
> A lot of what the instructor says here (including “Either you kill or capture, or you will be captured or killed," and "your object is to learn how to kill, but it is quite unnecessary to kill or damage your sparring partner, and you will not get extra points if you do so,”) is taken straight from the SOE manual that was used at Camp X. There are some gems in there and I would recommend getting a hold of a copy if that kind of thing interests you. 
> 
> Criticisms and comments are welcome!


End file.
